Buckling-restrained behavior of woven steel strip shear walls: Experiment and numerical simulation

A novel woven Buckling-Restrained Steel Strip Shear Wall (WBR-SSSW) is proposed for low and medium-rise buildings in this study. The proposed shear wall, comprising inclined arrangements of steel strips with varying dimensions, is categorized into compression and tension steel strips under horizontal loads. By weaving the steel strips, the out-of-plane buckling deformation of the compression strips is significantly alleviated. Cyclic tests were carried out on two 1/3-scaled single-story single-span SSSW specimens to investigate the seismic behavior of woven and non-woven SSSW. Finite element models of two types of SSSW were established and validated by test results. The results showed that the WBR-SSSW exhibited a distinct stress transfer path and stable bearing capacity, with the tension steel strip bearing the majority of the shear load. Compared to specimen SSSW, the WBR-SSSW reduced out-of-plane displacement by over 35 % at each loading level. Parametric analysis of the thickness, number, and width-to-spacing ratios of the steel strips was conducted to optimize the woven-net size. Additionally, a simplified theoretical model for WBR-SSSW was developed, showing good accuracy compared to finite element results, which can be used to estimate the structural shear bearing capacity.